North Kildare Chamber today (Wed 9th Jan) welcomed the announcement from the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) that it is to invest up to €500m in three SME funds which should generate at least €850m depending on the amount of third-party investment raised.
The Chamber President Eilis Quinlan said today” SMEs are the backbone of the domestic economy and provide over 70% of employment in this Country. We believe that the development of these new financing options will enhance their ability to contribute to our economic recovery. They will certainly expand our member’s options in relation to obtaining finance, and the Chamber will continue to assist businesses throughout Kildare in anyway we can”.
The three funds include an SME Equity Fund which focuses on investing in healthy businesses seeking to grow, while the SME Turnaround Fund will invest in underperforming businesses which are at, or close to the point of insolvency but have the potential for restructuring.
Quinlan concluded by stating “The NPRF has committed to investing across the full range of SME financing needs, and we welcome this initiative to address part of the Irish banking sector’s failure”.